John Gartland Jr.

Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Col. John J. Gartland Jr., 67, of Okmulgee, Okla., formerly of Morton, died at 8:07 p.m. Sunday, May 20, 2012, at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Okla.

He was born June 11, 1944, in Chicago, to John J. Sr. and Lotus M. (Jones) Gartland. He married Jo-Ann McCaskey on April 25, 2001, in Las Vegas, Nev. She survives.

John is survived by a brother, James (Sue) Gartland of Bloomingdale, Ill.; his former wife, Helen Sander of Canton, Mo.; his children, Theresa M. Gartland of Salina, Kan., Jenny (Curt) Kirschner of Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., Ute Leveling of Labelle, Mo., Rebecca (Ryan) Gartland-Vaughn of Pekin, Tim (Lisa) Gartland of Tulsa, Okla., Andreas Gartland and Peggy Mark of Georgia; his stepchildren, Clint Gold of East Peoria, Ann Gold of the state of Virginia, Aaron (Kate) Gold of Spotsylvania, Va., and David Gold of Illinois; 18 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by one infant daughter; one granddaughter; his parents; two brothers, Mike Gartland and Marty Gartland; and his former wife, Barbara Castle Gartland.

John served with the U.S. Army Special Forces as a Green Beret from Oct. 1962 to May 1990, having retired as Lieutenant Colonel. He is a veteran of both Vietnam and Desert Storm and was the recipient of the Bronze Star First Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal Second Oak Leaf Cluster and Army Commendation Medal Fourth Oak Leaf Cluster.

John was a lifetime member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and rode with the Medinah Black Horse Troop.

He graduated from OSU Okmulgee in 2003, having earned a pedorthist certification. John was an active member of the Boy Scouts of America, serving as a Scout Master of Troop 178 in Morton and Cub Master of Troop 80 in the state of Virginia.

He was a member of the Native American Fellowship and was Master of Ceremony for many years for Native American Pow Wows. He and his wife, Jo-Ann, owned and operated the Sidekick Western Store in Okmulgee, Okla.

Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Morton. Further visitation will be from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday, May 26, prior to services, which will be at 11 a.m. at the Native American Fellowship-Dayspring United Methodist Church in East Peoria. Pastor Carol Lakota Eastin and Pastor Dan Lybarger will officiate. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

Memorials may be made to the Boy Scouts of America, the American Legion, the VFW or Medinah Black Horse Troop.

To view John’s video tribute or to leave an online condolence for the family, visit www.knappjohnson.com.

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